A Royal Epitaph
by Blind writer
Summary: In the face of judgment, Chuu-ou reflects on his relationship with Dakki. Has a big spoiler for volume 20.


More random rambling. I think this one is even worse and more disjointed than my "Let's Have Some Fun"! Although, this time, I tried making the scene breaks more obvious. I'm not sure how effectively it worked. x_x

Dakki heart = **v**

As for a reference point, this is a drabble from Chuu-ou's viewpoint during his execution, with some errant flashbacks sprinkled in.

R&R, onegai shimasu. *bow*

A Royal Epitaph

* * *

/He raised his head, bliss falling over him. The sweetest of smells, the most pure of feelings, utterly primal in its intensity. She was here. He smiled crookedly, reaching his arms out towards the angel before him. Was she a blessing from the Gods? Surely she must be, no one could incite such powerful feelings in him. He squinted his eyes against the haze in his head. Where was she? His angel.../

Brightly, a flash of light scorched his eyes. Squeezing his eyes shut, he ignored the minute pain. Compared to losing her, it was nothing...

/There she was. His fingers grasped at her desperately, clinging to her, fearful she might vanish. Such an angel couldn't truly exist... could they? Her giggle filled the air, and his ears rang with the beauty of the sound. Yes, they could, for here one was, in his human arms./

He lowered his face from the light of the unforgiving sun. Glancing out across the sea of faces, he could not find hers. Perhaps it was too much to expect, she was gone to him...

/Her liquid lips spilled across his, spreading her spell around him, weaving her web of enchantment. He knew what she was doing; he didn't care. She was a piece of the Gods, and for her to choose him for her duties... it was nothing short of an honor. He basked in her glow, breathing in her sacred scent./

He could see the glint of his rival's sword from the corner of his eye. The words pouring from Bu-ou's lips didn't matter to him, and thus fell on deaf ears. It no longer mattered to him...

/Her mere presence was like being among the Gods. His servants, his subjects, his other wives all seemed to lose their reality. All that was true to him was her. Her hair tickled his cheek, and it felt like the breath of a distant star; real, yet so faint as to warrant one's need for more./

His eyes closed as the crowd fell silent. Bu-ou's speech has come to an end, and he knew the beginning of a new reign was at hand. What's this? Anything left to say? His lips curled upwards, no humour in the gesture. No. No one would truly understand even if he did say it...

/He could feel her feeding off of his very soul. He opened himself, letting her gorge on him. He didn't care anymore; she was with him. He didn't care if she had him order the deaths of every one of his subjects, he didn't care if he was no longer king, he didn't care that she had altered his very body. Human? God? Demon? To him, she was everything which made the world _liveable_./

Quietly, almost a whisper in the breeze, he heard Bu-ou's parting words to him. "I'm sorry..." This time, he smiled with feeling. Perhaps someone could have understood in another time and place. Perhaps...

/Her enchanting giggle permiated his soul once again as he raised his eyes to look into her non-human ones. He held his breath, waiting for her voice to steal his heart. "Hey, hey! **v** What do you think of me _now_, my dear king? **v**" Through the reddish facade of her eyes, he could see slivers of black slitting golden orbs. Her face held a mischievous grin, more suiting of a vixen. Angel or demon, he couldn't tell, but to him, she was still perfect./

He hadn't really registered the pain when it came, even though he was expecting it. It was surprising really, he figured it would take more out of him. He blinked once, watching his body slump to the ground from his flying viewpoint. Blinking again, he looked out across the sea of faces, his previous subjects, once more, and smiled. There she was, his lovely angel. Even in death, her holy beauty impassioned him. Even in death, he could see her powerful aura surrounding her, like a ring of light. A ring of light which covered his eyes, until there was nothing but black. Even in death, the only words he could utter to his angel were the same as they had always been.

/"I love you still, Dakki."/

In a shower of sparkles, Chuu-ou's soul disintegrated his body, beginning its sky-bound trek. Closing her eyes, Dakki turned and made her way towards the palace gates. She originally hadn't intended to attend this event - after all, he was merely a failed pawn in her game. She stopped at the gates, silent, before looking up to the sky. She smiled faintly at the disappearing soul.

/Perhaps you never knew, perhaps you knew all along, but... you loved me genuinely beyond my spell. And for that, I.../

Dakki lowered her eyes from the humourless sky and left the palace, features hidden by an oversized hood. Her cape billowed in a dry wind as she left Chouka and a piece of history behind her.

/I loved you too, you stupid human./

- "Herein lies the burial tomb of Chuu-ou, last king of the Yin dynasty. May him and his royal party forever rest in peace."


End file.
